Graduation Speech Teaching And Writing Courses - 986 Words

Throughout the previous years of my education, I have explored a variety of English and writing courses where I learned to dissect and explore the various meanings and intentions of authors and poets as well as my peers. Aside from the mandatory conventions that must be mastered in writing to ensure clarity, there are some characteristics that run deeper. These are what dictate whether or not a writer may truly become successful. A common theme that has been reinforced in my experiences is that of respect. Looking back to the awkward days in middle school, I can easily recall preparing a paper that I was sure would captivate my audience. Public speaking was something that my teachers prioritized greatly. Each day an assignment was due, we would all compete to see who could be first to present. There were some days where such a task as this was considerably easier than others. Depending on the mood of my peers and even me, the confidence of the paper could be either quite strong, or u nfortunately, shattered within a matter of a few short moments. No matter if a paper was excellent, or if it required some improvements, we were always encouraged to speak highly and only to build each other up rather than to crash each other down. This made for a seemingly safe environment. There were no wrong answers, no wrong ideas. I remember when the mysterious and thrilling experience of high school began. All of a sudden, the classmates that I had been through so much with began toShow MoreRelatedFactors Affecting Acquisition Of English As A Second Language1026 Words   |  5 Pagesbrought up speaking Black English with her relatives and friends. Thus, when it came to writing in Standard English, it was painful to her. However, she found herself powerless or reluctant to resist the lure of possibility. In fact, it was really easy to understand where Mellix was coming from because everybody has their own communities and it is interesting to see how other people switch going into different speech communities. Although Mellix, concluded that over the period of time, she managed toRead MoreA Comparison of Two Commencement Speeches and an Education Article969 Words   |  4 Pagesthe development and fulfilment of life. Education is not useful for monetary purposes alone. Education is intrinsically valuable. It is more than a tool to succeed in the work force in order to receive extrinsic ends. In Wallace’s commencement speech he states, â€Å"the degree you are about to receive has actual human value instead of just a material payoff.† Education opens doors to its students. People lacking intelligence have fewer opportunities to do what they want to do. Education is self-enlighteningRead MoreWhy Do You Work For This Organization? Essay1100 Words   |  5 Pagespost-secondary. 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He began educating himself in the history of discrimination. He took a Bachelors degree from Fisk University, where he came face to face with racism and frequentRead MoreBecoming A Special Education Teacher1058 Words   |  5 Pagessometimes crawled on the floor chasing each other as monsters. I loved seeing how me playing with him made him smile so big and become more outgoing. My dream is to give kids like Alex a reason to smile and help them reach their full potential. In this speech you will learn all about special education teachers, including, but not limited to: What they do, where they typically work, their environment, how much they get paid, benefits the job entails, the education and skills required to become a specialRead MoreSpeech : My Inspirational President Obama Essay919 Words   |  4 PagesAcademy. Obama participated in a number of co-curricular activities at Punahou, including writing for Ka Wai Ola, the high school literary journal, and playing on the junior varsity and varsity basketball teams. Obama graduated with ac ademic honors in 1979. 2. The two years President Barack Obama spent at Oxy from 1979 to 1981 played a major role in determining his future. When asked about his favorite college course, Obama unhesitatingly named the politics classes. ‘But professor gave me a B on a paperRead MoreMy Inspirational President Obam An African American President Of The United States Essay942 Words   |  4 PagesAcademy. Obama participated in a number of co-curricular activities at Punahou, including writing for Ka Wai Ola, the high school literary journal, and playing on the junior varsity and varsity basketball teams. Obama graduated with academic honors in 1979. 2. The two years President Barack Obama spent at Oxy from 1979 to 1981 played a major role in determining his future. When asked about his favorite college course, Obama unhesitatingly named the politics classes. ‘But professor gave me a B on a paperRead MoreResolution Of Speech Therapy And Lip Reading1621 Words   |  7 Pagesdeaf? Imagine yourself not being able to communicate with them, or imagine your family member living their life without any sound running through their ear drums. Of course there are options! They have the option to receive a cochlear implant, where they may be able to hear some sound, but not all. There is also the option of speech therapy and lip reading, which can be a lot of work to continuously read lips. Or, they can learn to communicate with sign language. 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Local Development Planning in the Philippines Free Essays

at the Local Level A  report  by: Sheryl  I. Fernando â€Å"Local governments do not have the luxury d of time to delay the development of their de own capabilities whic will allow them to ch achieve their cherishe objectives. ed They should help them mselves and not stagnate while the rest of the world go by. We will write a custom essay sample on Local Development Planning in the Philippines or any similar topic only for you Order Now st Local governments he elping themselves is the essence of the home ru It is also the ule. cornerstone of democr ratic and just institutions. â€Å" LOGODEF,  1993 Local governments in the Philippines have th roots in the colonial administration of Spain, heir which lasted in the Philippines for some 32 years. These three centuries under Spanish 27 government were characterized by a highly ce entralized regime. The Spanish Governor General in Manila actually governed the provinces and cities in the whole country. After Spain, the US d came in the early 1900s and Filippinized local government administration. The last 50 years of the present century saw several developments towards decentralization. The Local Autonomy Act of 1959, the passage of the Barrio Charter and the Decentralization Act o of 1967 were all incremental national legisla ations in response to the clamour for a self? rule concept. The Philippine Constitutions of 1972 and 1987 also significantly influenced the mo vement for political devolution. The most significant constitutional provisions (Article 10 on Local Government) are the following: s The Congress shall enact a local government code which shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a system of s decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall, initiative n and referendum allocate among the different local government m, units their powers, responsibilities and resources and provide for the qualificati ions, election, appointment, removal, terms, salaries, power functions and duties of local officials and all rs, other matters relating to the organization and operation of the r local units†. The legislative initiative promoting local auto onomy was strongly supported by academics and public servants who spearheaded the nec cessary reforms in changing the structure and organization of local governments and includ new functions to enable local governments to ded address a changing environment. The strugg for decentralization that lasted more than 50 gle years culminated in the passage of the Loca Government Code in October 1991. The Local al Government Code is a most comprehensiv document on local government touching on ve structures, functions and powers, including tax xation and intergovernmental relations. † unescap. org According  to  Panadero (2008)  the  dece entralization  of  governance  was  influenced   by  local  Ã‚  and  international  events  (see  Figure e  1). He  also  added  that  at  the  International Internat tional  Events POSITIVE ? Technological Advances ? Globalization crisis ? Trade/Investment liberalization ? Poverty focus flu) Political †¢ 3  changes  in   administration †¢ EDSA  II  Ã‚  III †¢ Increase  Insurgency †¢ Terrorism †¢ Charter  Change †¢ Political  Uncertainty NEGATIVE ? Episodes of world economic Slowdown economic ? Rising oil prices ? Terrorism ? Heath problems (e. g. SARS, Eco onomic †¢ Boom  bu ust  economic   growth/cr rises †¢ Liberaliza ation/   Deregular rization   Policies †¢ Rising  Ur rbanization †¢ OFW  Deployment †¢ Fiscal  Ã‚  d debt  problems DECENT TRALIZATION Social †¢ Persistent  poverty †¢ Lower  budget   allocation For  social  services †¢ Rising  inequality †¢ Disasters Figure  1. Economic,  Social  Ã‚  Political  Environme ent  in  the  Last  Years  of  Decentralization level, globalization has the most pervasive influence on the decentralization, which was hastened by trade and investment liberalization and technological advances. On the Social Sector, there was a focus on the reduction of poverty; on the Economic Sector, the new international issues such as terrorism had positive and negative impacts at the local level, while the economic scenario at the national level significantly shaped local development. The national government in the 1990 sought to upgrade local government by 0s delegating some limited powers to local su ubdivisions and by encouraging people to participate in community affairs. Local auto onomy was balanced, however, against the need to ensure effective political and admin nistrative control from Manila, especially in those areas where communist or Muslim ins surgents were active. During Marcos’s authoritarian years (1 1972? 86), a Ministry of Local Government was instituted to invigorate provincial, mu unicipal, and barangay governments. But, Marcos’s real purpose was to establish lin of authority that bypassed provincial nes governments and ran straight to Malacanang. All local officials were beholden to Marcos, who could appoint or remove any provincial governor or town mayor. Those administrators who delivered the votes Marcos asked for were rewarded with community development funds to spend any way they liked. y After the People’s Power Revolution, the new Aquino government decided to replace all the local officials who had served Marcos. Corazon Aquino delegated this task to her political ally, Aquilino Pimentel. Pimentel named officers in charge of local governments all across the nation. They served until the first local elections were held under the new constitution on January 18, 1988. Local officials elected in 1988 were to serve until June 1992, under the transitory clauses of the new constitution. Thereafter, terms of office were to be three years, with a three? term limit. Local government units (LGUs) are territo orial political subdivisions of the Philippines that include provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays (the smallest political unit in the country). Because local government officials ar voted into power by the people, their primary re role is people’s welfare. Their offices are the major institutions responsible for the e coordination, overseeing and monitoring of dev velopment projects at the local level. The devolution of significant powers and functions formerly held by national line agencies mmunity development and poverty alleviation in to LGUs made them powerful conduits for com the countryside. Among the responsibilities tr ransferred to the LGUs were agriculture, health, social services, environment and natural resources, maintenance of local infrastructure facilities (such as farm? to? market roads, bridges and irri igation) and others. Local legislative powers such as decision? making, resource allocation, rule? m making and enforcement of laws related to these powers were also delegated to LGUs. Governor  Lilia  G. Pineda  meets  with  barangay  officials  of  flooded? municipalities  in  the  province  as  she  instructs  them  to  further   intensify  their  efforts  in  ensuring  the  welfare  and  safety  of  their  r respective  constituents. Board  Member  Cris Garbo,  Provincial   Social  Welfare  and  Development  Officer  (PSWDO)  Elizabeth  Bayb bayan and  Agriculture  Consultant  Roy  Imperial  join  the  meeting  of   the  local  officials. (Photo  by  Jun  Jaso,Pampanga PIO) The planning process in starts at the barangay level. Plans are prepared by the Barangay Council, and then adopted by the Barangay Development Council, composed of barangay y officials elected by the people (Figure 2). Gene erally, barangay officials have completed only the elementary levels of schooling, and have little or no training in development? related activities. Hence, barangay development plans usually consist only of lists of projects that focus mainly c on the infrastructure facilities that are the most obvious and easiest to identify. Some communities do have better planning processe but these are rare. es, Level National Planning  Institutions National  Economic  Development   Authority  (NEDA),  Central  Office Regional NEDA,  Ã‚  Regional  Office Provincial Provincial  Planning  and   Development  Office  (PPDO) Municipal Municipal  Planning  and   Development  Office  (MPDO) Barangay Figure  2. Planning  process  and  institutions  in  the  Philippines Barangay  Council/ Sangguniag Barangay Barangay development plans are submit tted to the Municipal Planning and Development Office (MPDO), which comes under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Mayor. The MPDO is in charge of planning activities at the municipa level. Generally, the MPDO consolidates the al â€Å"shopping lists† of projects and prioritizes them in accordance with the plans of the municipality. Before this consolidated plan bec comes the official Municipal Development Plan, it must first be adopted by the Municipal Develo opment Council. From the municipal level, plans are forwarded to the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) where they are again D consolidated and prioritized on the basis of the province’s own particular plans. e The provincial development plans are also reviewed by the Provincial Development Councils before adoption. They are then sub bmitted to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Office, which cons solidates all the provincial plans and prioritizes them, based on regional importance. The plans should also be reviewed by the Regional p Development Councils before adoption. The plans are then forwarded to the NEDA Central Office Inter? Cabinet Coordinating Committee for consideration, together with the priorities of f the various government line agencies. Based on the national thrusts and priorities, the projects o that are selected are then consolidated and included in the National Medium? Term Development Plan. The Local Government Code (LGC) man ndates the LGUs with significant local planning functions. In particular, Section 106 of the Code provides that â€Å"each LGU shall have e comprehensive multi? sectoral development pla to be initiated by its development council and an approved by its Sanggunian. The institutional responsibilities for plan formulation, e financing and implementation are likewise clearly g, prescribe by the Code: ed ? The Loc Development Plan (LDP) shall be prepared by the cal Local Development Council (LDC); P ? The LDP will be approved by the Sanggunian; ? Funds for the development plan shall be allocated by the Local Fin nance Committee (LCF); and ? The Loc Chief Executive (LCE), together with the executive cal departm ments, will implement the development plan. This case study highlights the experience of undertaking a Priority e Implementation Partnership on incorporating disaster risk impact assessments into the construction of new roads in the Philippines, implemented by the National Disa aster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and Department of Public Work s and Highways (DPWH) with support from Asian Disaster Preparedness Cent (ADPC), UN International Strategy ter for Disaster Reduction (UN/I ISDR) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). † Towards Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into the Planning Process of Road Construction Safer Roads A Priority Implementation Partnership between the National Disaster Coordinating Council and the Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippines Under the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC) Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development in Asia Road Sector a priority for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction BACKGROUND The Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) on Disaster Management under its program on Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development (MDRD) have identified Roads and Infrastructure, Agriculture, Education, Health, Housing and Financial Services as priority sectors to initiate mainstreaming disaster risk reduction . With the massive infrastructure development in Asia underpinned by the investment in highways, roads and bridges, prioritizing the Road Sector is certainly a necessity. In the RCC which comprises of heads of the National Disaster Management Offices of 26 Asian Countries, members had submitted expression of interest (EoI) to mainstream of disaster risk reduction into particular sectors depending on the development priorities of their country. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) of the Philippines which is a member of the RCC expressed interest in taking-up MDRD into road sector in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the agency responsible for national road construction in the country. Accordingly in the first quarter of 2006, the Priority Implementation Partnership for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the planning process of road construction in the Philippines was started by NDCC and DPWH. The partnership was technically supported by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) with financial support from UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) through Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). ource: Mapping Philippine Vulnerability to Environmental Disasters – Manila Observatory/Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Floods and earthquakes make the road system in the Philippines prone to landslides, roa d slips, embankment scouring and other sediment related disasters. Roads are often closed for several days when hit by such disasters causing disruption in transportation services that affects the access of passengers, goods and services. The impact of flooding and typhoons in creating havoc to the country’s economy as well as to damage to property is recognized in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan of 2001-2004 and accordingly the DPWH has also aligned its policies and strategies. Priority Implementation Partnership (PIP) – a Process towards mainstreaming disaster risk reduction Similar to other countries, the Road sector in the Philippines also works in close collaboration with various government departments like Planning, Finance, Environment and Local Government. While the development of national roads (30,000 km of length) is under the jurisdiction of DPWH, the remaining road network (172,000 km of length) falls under the concern of local government units. In addition, road projects are based on area development plans produced by the National Economic Development Agency (NEDA) and the Regional Development Councils (RDC). Similarly the feasibility reports prepared for each road project undergoes an environmental and a social impact assessment led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). In order to mainstream disaster risk reduction, further collaboration is required with NDCC and technical agencies responsible for producing hazard information related to natural disasters like the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Philippines Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). A MULTI-AGENCY TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP TAKES THE LEAD With this understanding, the PIP formed a technical working group of the NDCC at the beginning with multi-agency membership to steer the process of implementation of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the planning process of road construction. procedure of road planning and identifying the windows of opportunity to introduce disaster risk reduction. Accordingly the scope of activities was detailed as follows: †¢ Documentation of existing procedure for development of road projects with respect to hazards; Documentation of contents of pre feasibility/ feasibility report of road projects in the country over the past 20 years; Analysis of past damage to road infrastructure; Identification of specific steps that can be taken for incorporating hazard considerations in project development and approval process; List of future priority projects for construction of roads in the Philippines. †¢ PIP Technical Working Group comprises: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Chairperson; Planning service, DPWH Co-chairperson; Planning division, NDCC Members Bureau of research and standard, DPWH Bureau of design and bridge division, DPWH Philippines Institute of Civil Engineer Department of Environment and Natural Resources Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Philippines Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Asian Disaster Preparedness Center †¢ †¢ †¢ The technical working group met frequently over the PIP implementation period to look at the mentioned activities above and developed the final report which details recommendations for integrating DRR into the planning process of new road construction in the Philippines. BROADER CONSULTATION PIP LOOKED INTO The technical working group engaged in consultation and decided on the following activities for initiating mainstreaming. Since it was realized that the ultimate aim of mainstreaming could only be achieved by bringing change in the entire system, which road projects are developed, designed, constructed and maintained. Hence this particular partnership would emphasize on understanding the existing The findings of the PIP were shared during a national workshopheld in February 2007, in which a wide range of stakeholders particpated including the Government, technical agencies, UN agencies and the Asian Development Bank. The recommendations were discussed in detail and future steps were identified. The Project Development of a typical infrastructure project in DPWH follows a cyclic process consisting of four phases: Project identification, Project preparation, Project implementation and Project operation and evaluation. consolidated form, with limited access to detailed report on damages and their corresponding costs. Also of equal importance is to benchmark hazard intensities with their Return periods/Damages. This is particularly difficult due to: lack of updated topographic maps at 1:5,000 or higher resolution, a sparse network of hazard monitoring stations (seismic and flood) as well as short monitoring period and limited processed data on hazards. The following key documents were collected during the project to conduct the analysis: †¢ Standard Terms of Reference for Strategic Environment Assessment for Plans and Programmes Standard Report Format for Strategic Environment Assessment for Plans and Programmes Sample of Damage Report DPWH District Office Sample of Consolidated Damage Report by NDCC Sample of Bridge condition Inspection Form Sample of Pre- Feasibility and Feasibility Reports of Road projects starting 1984 List of future projects of DPWH After the projects are identified, feasibility studies are conducted which includes investigations and analysis to determine the extent and degree of desirability of a project against technical, economic, social, environmental, financial and operational aspects. As part of this project, sample feasibility reports over last 20 years were analysed in terms of content and it was realized that the structure of the report largely depends on the source of funding of the project. Typically due to lack of funding for construction of national road projects, DPWH administers a basic feasibility study, but for foreign-assisted projects the assessment process is more in-depth and extensive. However, it was noted that post 2000, the feasibility reports do tend to include a section on â€Å"Review of hazard specific threats on road sections† though it is primarily limited to protecting the road segments from geological hazards such as landslides and debris fall. In addition, DPWH feasibility study includes an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The EIA report structure considers the impact of hazards by defining an â€Å"environmentally critical area† of the project site where it is frequently visited by the natural hazards. However, it does not explicitly provide details on how to address natural hazard vulnerability and risks to infrastructure and the consequent impact from its damage or failure. Similarly, Cost-benefit analysis cover only the planned use of the facility and does not factor in other costs (risk based cost) arising from potential damage or possible failure of the structure to function to a certain event. Assessment of damages to roads affected by a natural disaster is carried-out by DPWH at the district level. There is no fixed format followed for collecting information needed for the assessment and the reports are directly sent to NDCC for the preparation of an overall disaster assessment report. Hence, it becomes difficult to trace these records at the regional or central offices of the DPWH. Similarly the damage information of past disasters available from NDCC is in a †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ It is also realized that since mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction involves a broad range of stakeholders, interrelated plans and programs, disaster risk reduction concerns need to be linked with ongoing projects of DPWH such as: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The earthquake rehabilitation program and similar seismic vulnerability assessments DPWH national roads improvement and management program, Phase II DPWH road maintenance investment programs The study on the nationwide flood risk assessment and the flood mitigation plan for the selected areas in the Philippines Technical Assistance for risk assessment and management Benefit monitoring and evaluation of selected roads, Phase II, ADB Capacity Building Study on risk management for sediment related disaster on selected national highways Similarly close linkage needs to be established with the ongoing project of NDCC in partnership with UNDP on Hazard Mapping and Assessment for effective community-based disaster risk managemen t (READY). †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ KEY FINDINGS †¢ DPWH adopts a basic â€Å"one size fits all† format for feasibility studies of road projects that does not specifically require assessment of disaster risks. During detailed design, disaster risk reduction aspects are incorporated into the project if required. Mostly national budgets do not provide funds for surveys and investigations at the feasibility study stage, and it is therefore unusual for disaster risk reduction measures to be incorporated at early stages of project preparation. Externally funded projects are prepared to higher standards, particularly in relation to environmental assessments (where disaster risk aspects are described if required by the particular agency) and resettlement planning. There is uneven application of building codes and design standards between national and local roads. Absence of one fixed format for collecting information on damage to roads and bridges from natural hazards prepared by district-level offices. Hydrological data are available for major river basins in the Philippines but these information have not uniformly been processed to provide flow/stage relationships for different return periods, which could be used for road design. Learning The key to successful integration of disaster risk reduction on road projects lies in the planning phase of the project cycle which includes project identification and preparation of the feasibility study. Assessing the possible impact on the project of natural disasters or other hazards at this stage means that the appropriate risk reduction measures can be included in the scope, layout and arrangement of the project’s major components—and that these measures will be allowed for in the cost estimate. If such measures are not included at the planning phase, their inclusion at the later stages is unlikely, or could be costly and inconvenient (i. e. possibly requiring a supplementary budget). Attempting to include risk reduction measures at the design stage (after major elements of the project have been decided and the budget has been allocated) cannot adequately satisfy the need for disaster risk reduction. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Recommendations DPWH needs to have a standard on project identification and preparation procedures to eliminate quality discrepancies between nationally and externally funded projects and to pave the way for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in road projects. Feasibility reports should include assessments of the impact of potential disasters. An enhanced natural hazard/impact assessment component should be included in the EIA for nationally-funded and foreign-assisted projects The existing system for monitoring road needs to be improved to allow for the recording of damage caused by natural disasters. Standard formats and reporting standards should be introduced for monitoring and for collecting damage data from the impact of natural disasters on roads. Capacity of staff to assess the impact of natural disasters needs to be increased, particularly at the regional and district levels. The key to successful integration of disaster risk reduction on road projects lies in the planning phase†¦ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Next Steps for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into road sector in the Philippines In order to take forward the momentum gained under the PIP, the technical working group has identified the following next steps to realize the recommendations: †¢ Identifying two pipeline road projects in a hazard prone area of the Philippines. The two projects would be at different stages namely a pipeline project without a feasibility study and a pipeline project with a feasibility study completed. Integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) into the planning process of two identified pipeline project. Capacity building of officials from DPWH responsible for conducting feasibility studies on how to integrate DRR. Experience of PIP incorporated in the RCC Guideline on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into Infrastructure †¢ To share the experience gained during the process of implementation of the PIP with the remaining RCC member countries, the technical working group represented by DPWH and NDCC participated in a regional technical workshop on developing the RCC Guideline on incorporating disaster risk assessments as part of planning process before construction of new roads. The lessons learned from the PIP acted as the guiding approaches for initiating mainstreaming disaster risk reduction. †¢ †¢ Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC) The RCC comprises of members who are working in key Government positions in the National Disaster Management Offices of countries of the Asian region. To date, 26 countries are represented by 30 RCC Members from the Asia and Pacific regions, namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam. RCC Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation in Asia (RCC MDRD) A key priority identified by the RCC is the integration of disaster risk considerations into development planning. To initiate action on this agreed direction, the RCC Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation (MDRD) was launched at the 4th RCC meeting in Bangladesh in March 2004. The RCC 5 adopted the Hanoi RCC 5 statement on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development in Asian Countries which prioritizes mainstreaming of DRR to be initiated in National development planning process as well as Sectoral development. It identified six priority sectors namely Agriculture, Education, Health, Housing, Urban Planning and Infrastructure and Financial services for mainstreaming of DRR. The program has five components for implementation: †¢ †¢ Component 1: Developing Guidelines and Tools for MDRD Component 2: Undertaking Priority Implementation Partnerships (PIP) in MDRD in RCC Member Countries Component 3: Showcasing good practice on MDRD and Monitoring Progress Component 4: Advocacy for Building awareness and Political Support to MDRD Component 5: Mobilizing Partnerships for ongoing and sustainable implementation Lay-out and graphic design by: Philipp Danao †¢ †¢ †¢ The Hanoi RCC 5 statement identified the following sub themes within the Urban Planning and Infrastructure to initiate mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction: For more information, please contact: †¢ Aloysius Rego, Director and Team Leader Email: ajrego@adpc. net †¢ Arghya Sinha Roy, Project Manager Email: arghya@adpc. net Disaster Management Systems Team Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) P. O. Box 4 Klong Luang Pathumthani 12120 Thailand Tel: (66 2) 516 5900-10 Fax: (66 2) 524-5350, 5360 Email: adpc@adpc. net website: www. adpc. net Introducing Disaster Risk Impact Assessments into the construction of new roads and bridges; Promoting the use of hazard risk information in land-use planning and zoning programs This case study highlights the experience of undertaking a Priority Implementation Partnership on incorporating disaster risk impact assessments into the construction of new roads in the Philippines, implemented by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with support from Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ ISDR) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). References:  Ã‚   ONLINE  :   Guide  to  Comprehensive  Development  Plan   http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/philippines/GOVERNMENT. html   Accessed:  June  26,  2012 Local  Government  Code. http://www. chanrobles. com/localgov1. htm   Accessed:  June  26,  2012   Local  Government  in  Asia  and  the  Pacific:  A  Comparative  Study. Country  paper:  Philippines   http://www. unescap. org/huset/lgstudy/country /philippines/philippines. tml  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accessed:  June  26,  2012   Luz  Seno? Ani. Participatory  territorial  planning:  the  farming  systems  development  approach  in   community  planning  in  the  Philippines,  1995–2002. http://www. fao. org/docrep/005/Y8999T/y8999t06. htm      Accessed:  June  26,  2012      Philippines? Government   http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/philippines/GOVERNMENT. html   Accessed:  June  26,  2012      Rationalizing  the  Local  Planning  System   http://www. dilg. gov. ph/PDF_File/reports/DILG? Reports? 2011712? ea7ba5859e. pdf      e? BOOK/BOOK:      Panadero,  Austere  A. (2008). Strategy  to  Further  Decentralization  in  the  Philippines. LOGODEF   Journal  on  Ã‚  Local  Governance. Towards  Mainstreaming  Disaster  Risk  Reduction  into  the  Planning  Process  of  Road  Construction         PHOTOS:   Gov. meets  with  brgy  officials:   http://pampangacapitol. ph/2011/10/06/gov? meets? with? barangay? officials/      cory  caricature from  the  Filipino  mind:  Bobby  Tuazon   http://thefilipinomind. blogspot. com/2009/08/cora? aquino? how? politics? of? reform? lost. html      Cover  photo  by  Sheryl  Fernando,  documentor,  Executive  management  course  for  Ã‚  PSWDOs  and   MSWDOs  in  Mindanao A  report  submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  in   Development  Management  in n  Development  Organizations Submit tted  to: Dr. Jedida  L. Aquino Profe essor Submitted  by: Sheryl  I. F Fernando MD DM How to cite Local Development Planning in the Philippines, Essay examples

Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility. Answer: Introduction: The combination of Queensland Insurance, Bankers and Traders insurance company and Equitable Life and general insurance co., formed the largest insurance group in Australia, founded by one chairman Mr. J.D.O Burns where it was christened QBE insurance group and the headquarters based in Sydney, Australia, Chiefly Square, (QBE 2015 annual report). This group was founded 131 years ago and deals in the business of general insurance and reinsurance services. It has been recognized globally as the best insurance firm and selling its insurance services to the Pacific region, Europe, Equator Reinsurance limited segments, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, and America(Allen, et al., 2013). The kind of insurance services offered by this insurance group include some of the following; Public/product liability insurance policies, Motor and motor causalities insurance policies, Insurance policies on Commercial and domestic products, Accident and health insurance products, Marine energy and aviation in surance products and many others. The organizational structure of QBE according to 2014 annual report (2015) is that it is headed by the Chief Executive Officer, who also is the groups acting Chief Financial Officer in the New Zealand and Australia operation regions, Mr. Patrick Regan. The next in command is the Executive General Manager who holds the docket of Corporate Partners and Direct, who ensures efficiency of services provision in the Motor trades, traveling, CTP, Financial institutions businesses and many other related services as a broker, an agent in personal insurance lines. The Executive General Manager, currently Mr. Jason Clarke, holds the Intermediary Distribution docket, which deals with such other branches in the organization as; workers compensation, underwriting agencies, Australian intermediaries, aviation marine and international brokers and many other general insurance services. The other chief executive officers in the organizational structure includes; Mr. Inder Singh, who currently is the chief financial officer, and oversees all related financial services; then Mr. Steven Raynor, who is the Executive General Manager in transformation, who works particularly in bringing together different specialist for the alignment and strategy driving, and the promotion of innovation. Mss. Betina Pidcock heads the Marketing docket as the executive general manager, Mr. Declan Moore as the Chief underwriting officer, Mss. Sally Kincaid as the Chief Human resource officer, Madam Anna Gould as the chief risk officer, Mr. Tony Forward as the chief information officer and many other leaders in the executive branch of the business(Bath Libbesson, 2010). All these leaders efforts combined have been the reason for the success of QBE as an insurance group business. According to their half year report running up to June 2008, QBE say that they strategically focus in potential delivery of insurance services to all its customers and shareholders worldwide, and maintain their relevance in the insurance markets despite the fluctuations in price in both local currencies and the overseas currencies and the influx rate at which risks have occurred and catastrophe claims made(Colquit, et al., 2012). According to their 2015 annual report (2016), the QBE had significant achievements and enjoyed tremendous profits in the year 2015 despite the various challenges encountered in the insurance business, thereby underwriting the profits of the firm through their strategic rationalization and refocusing on their strategies of activities. The companys journey towards excellence was also increased by the action they took of implementing a model that is integrated with objectives that have a global vision in operation and using the Group Shared Services Center (GSSC) appropriately in the quest to communicate effectively for strategic achievement of its global businesses and processes, such as; provision of captive insurance to its clients and a range of financial, infrastructural and people services(Harris, et al., 2013). The annual report confirms that the insurance company faces a lot of external challenges and risks that confront its business procedures some of them including; The constant fluctuation in currencies especially in the overseas markets which sometimes forces them to change their interest rates which also ends up in very little returns in sales. For them to remain afloat on the competitive edge, the QBE executive wing and sales managers resolved to balance their short-term returns on their investments due to the market challenges experienced. The increased level of catastrophe insurance claims, especially from New Zealand and Australia due to the insurance level of NSW CTP that had significantly increased during the year of 2015. The internal factors that the insurance group experienced were that of recovering their materials from their employees and stakeholders under the umbrella of Individual risk and catastrophe protection in the Groups reinsurance category(Jones, 2010). According to the QBE groups financial chief officer, Mr. Patrick Regan, the major activities that the insurance group focuses on yearly that enables them to remain the worlds best global insurer includes; Prompt and timely delivery of earnings and the reservation of their stability and predictability to their clients, members, and stakeholders. For their business to underline profits and be successful in the market, they concentrate in the achievement of an all-around organic growth modestly(Stork De Vries, 2009).QBE attains its competitive advantage by also growing strongly the dividends acquired to their shareholders. Another activity is that the group always focuses on the maintenance of stable capital positioning and also slightly stronger dividend remittances in the divisional section that is a little bit higher than the previous returns(Kemp, 2011). The insurance group focuses on the reduction of its operating costs and with the aim of acquiring a lower expense ratio of about 1%. (Smith Davies, 2009), confirm that the domestic and contextual factors that affect the business in its quest towards achieving excellence include some of the following; Constantly emerging environmental risks that increase the catastrophe claims from their markets which reduces the sales they make in a particular period, but the group has learnt on this risks and as a result came up with an operation criteria that assists them to identify, and make an analysis of the impact that will be created by the risk and be able to come up with the strategies of curbing the risk. The reaction of their employees and staffs to any risks that may be encountered may be negative, and some actions that may be taken could be dangerous to the maintenance of the business reputation in the market which sometimes may lead to the drop in sales(Liability, 2011). Fortunately, the business was able to identify this and came up with an initiative framework in which employees are given training platforms that are related to risks that occur globally, and also having a platform in which employee performance is monitored, and the correct analysis of data can be observed. Insurance regulatory regimes all over the world have been changing and updating their rules and regulations on matters of insurance and these forces the QBE group to find ways in adjusting on how to manage these changes and be able to remain compliant through with the evolving requirements of the act of combining globally consistent frameworks with the local expertise available. According to (Norfolk, 2012), another challenge encountered is that changing consumer taste and preferences, market prices and the pricing policies and the ever changing technology in terms of cybercrimes have been part of the stumbling blocks towards maintaining excellence due to the need of the company to be able to adjust according to market demands and regulation compliance. According to (Outreville, 2012), QBE as an organization also has its ethical codes of conducts which provide a guideline to all its employees on how to do their duties professionally in some issues related to customers and the success of the business. If these codes are breached, then it sometimes forces the authorities to take action on the employee which may also tarnish the name of the organization. Some of the breaches that may be done by employees according to the ethical codes document include; unethical, illegal, fraudulent, corrupt and dishonest conduct; behaving or conducting oneself in a manner that it poses a threat to QBEs reputation; in case one undergoes a personal change and personal circumstances, then fails to notify QBE in time, which may result in affecting their ability to perform their roles; the breach of applicable regulations, policies and laws booth of the insurance group and the environmental or legal ones; getting involved in the financial crime such as bri bery, corruption, fraud or money laundering. The organizational and business practices required by QBE according to (Ramsay, 2012), apart from providing insurance services, include activities like; expansion of its businesses through acquisition of more shareholders and companies like Mexican Insurer Seguros Cumbre SA de CV in the year 2007 and the one in America called, General causality insurance, The one in California called Balboa Insurance and many others. The other kind of business activity is that of sponsoring sports as a way of marketing its services through the involvement in sporting activities using it as a forum for conducting their advertisement and sales. Conclusion All the environmental and marketing challenges discussed, the structural format, the organizational businesses, and practices together with its diverse functions all relate in the manner that they form a basis for which the organization can always forge forward and perform well in its business line. Therefore, the number of issues examined in this document in terms of the insurance groups business and management contexts, the external factors and marketing challenges faced by the organization and how they find or try to find solutions to the problems and the general underlying returns they get, gives us a clearer picture of how organizations can be successful in its operations but only through proper laying of structures and strategies, use of correct kind of employees and staff who are specialized in a particular area and also appropriate decision making towards the journey to excellence. References Allen, D.E., Singh, A.K. and Powell, R., 2013. Analyzing the return distributions of Australian stocks: the CAPM, factor models and quantile regressions.Global Business and Economics Review,15(1), pp.88-109. Bath, M. and Libbesson, K.A., 2010. Insurance Law: Third Parties and S 54-Another Nail in the Coffin of'Claims Made and Notified'Policies?.Keeping Good Companies,62(8), p.488. Colquit, L., Crutchley, C. and Swidler, S., 2012. Sustainable Insurance Firms in Unsustainable Economic Times: Do Sustainable Corporate Policies Matter in Times of Financial Crisis?.International Review of Accounting, Banking Finance,4(1). Harris, J., Hargovan, A. and Adams, M.A., 2013.Australian corporate law(Vol. 2). LexisNexis Butterworths. Jones, P.M., 2010. Trade credit insurance.Primer Series on Insurance,15. Kemp, S., 2011. Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility: lessons from the land of OZ.Journal of Management Governance,15(4), pp.539-556. Liability, A., 2011. General Liability.Excess/Umbrella Liability, Professional Liability/Errors . Norfolk, N., 2012. Liability Insurance Schedule.policy. Outreville, J.F., 2012. The worlds largest reinsurance groups: A look at names, numbers and countries from 1980 to 2010.Insurance and Risk Management,80(1), pp.137-156. Ramsay, D., 2012. Lessons for directors after James Hardie.Law Society Journal: the official journal of the Law Society of New South Wales,50(6), p.60. Smith, J. and Davies, C., 2009. Transforming HR in partnership with the business at QBE Insurance.Strategic HR Review,8(5), pp.11-17. Stork, P.A. and de Vries, C.G., 2009. The stability of the Australian Banking sector. InThe Banking Crisis Handbook(pp. 397-416). CRC Press.